radical royalist

These are troubled times, but I guess monarchists have something to say and something to offer as a possible solution for many problems that shake the world. That's why I call myself "radical royalist" because I am unashamedly in favour of a monarchy - anywhere!
Omnis regis fautor sum: Regalis nihil mihi alienum est

Tuesday, 17 April 2018

The Australian Queen's Birthday postage stamps mark the 92nd birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with two designs that feature a floral theme.

On the domestic-rate stamp, the Queen is pictured during her 90th birthday celebrations in April 2016. The Queen was photographed arriving to open the Alexandra Gardens Bandstand, in Windsor, as part of a day of visits with Prince Philip. On the international-rate stamp, the Queen is attending a 2015 service to mark Commonwealth Day – the celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The domestic stamp also features a close-up photograph of the 'Queen Elizabeth’ (also known as ‘Queen of England’) – a tall grandiflora rose introduced in 1954. The Queen Elizabeth rose was named to recognise the Queen’s ascension to the British throne in 1952 and subsequent coronation in 1953.

Monday, 12 March 2018

The first Empire Day took place on 24th May 1902, celebrated prior to 1901 as the birthday of Queen Victoria. Empire Day became a major event, involving, among other things, school parades. Today 60 years ago, on 12th March 1958, the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan announced in Parliament the renaming of Empire Day as Commonwealth Day.

The Commonwealth and Britain have a shared history, cultural links, common legal systems and business practices. Following a 1973 proposal by the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Commonwealth Secretariat selected the second Monday in March as the date on which Commonwealth Day is observed throughout all countries of the Commonwealth.

This 12th March people in Commonwealth countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, the Pacific and Europe will observe Commonwealth Day. Faith and civic gatherings, debates, school assemblies, flag raising ceremonies, street parties and fashion shows are just some of the events they will use to celebrate the vast diversity, strong unity and uplifting values that define the Commonwealth.

In London, Head of the Commonwealth Queen Elizabeth II will attend a multicultural, multi-faith service at Westminster Abbey with a mixture of testimonies, performances and readings from throughout the Commonwealth. The event will be broadcast live on BBC One from 2.45pm (GMT) and will feature a procession of Commonwealth flags, with a young flag bearer representing each of the 53 nations of the Commonwealth.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, sends this message on Commonwealth Day:

We all have reason to give thanks for the numerous ways in which our lives are enriched when we learn from others. Through exchanging ideas, and seeing life from other perspectives, we grow in understanding and work more collaboratively towards a common future. There is a very special value in the insights we gain through the Commonwealth connection; shared inheritances help us overcome difference so that diversity is a cause for celebration rather than division.

We shall see this in action at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which takes place in the United Kingdom next month, bringing together young people, business and civil society from across the Commonwealth.

These gatherings are themselves fine examples of how consensus and commitment can help to create a future that is fairer, more secure, more prosperous and sustainable. Having enjoyed the warm hospitality of so many Commonwealth countries over the years, I look forward to the pleasure of welcoming the leaders of our family of 53 nations to my homes in London and Windsor.

Sport also contributes to building peace and development. The excitement and positive potential of friendly rivalry will be on display next month as we enjoy the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia. Contributing to the success of the Games, alongside athletes and officials, will be thousands of volunteers.

Voluntary effort, by people working as individuals, in groups or through larger associations, is so often what shapes the Commonwealth and all our communities. By pledging to serve the common good in new ways, we can ensure that the Commonwealth continues to grow in scope and stature, to have an even greater impact on people's lives, today, and for future generations.

Friday, 15 December 2017

News (The Australian 15-12-17) that the Australian Republic Movement is to announce the establishment of a high-level advisory panel including a number of politicians and big-businessmen comes as no surprise because the campaign for ‘an Australian head of state’ has always been all about politicians and big business controlling the top job.

The fact is, whilst the Queen is our sovereign head of state, the Governor-General acts in that role as our executive head of state. This is because our government is constituted under the Crown. Our current Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove, is above politics and acts only in the interests of the nation. Could one ever say the same about any of the potential contenders for president? Also, importantly, no one can control the Governor-General.

The most important active office in the land is that of the head of government, the prime minister. Both the viceregal office and that of the prime minister have been occupied by Australians for decades.

Politicians will always protect the political interest. Big business will always protect big business. Who in this so-called republic is ever going to protect the rest of us?

Philip Benwell
National Chair
Australian Monarchist League

What the people want and what the politicians and the business elites want differs very often - certainly in the case of an Australian republic.

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie arrived in Rome early in the morning of 14th December 1967

From the outset, the relationship between King Constantine and the colonels, who seized power in Greece with a coup d'état was an uneasy one. Constantine II was at the Tatoi Palace outside Athens when the coup occurred in the early hours of the 21st of April. The king was cut off from his advisers and was at an initial loss as to how to re-act. His Majesty made his way to the Defence Ministry where the assembled generals stood at attention and pledged allegiance to their king.

However Constantine II’s visit to the Defence Ministry demonstrated to His Majesty that operational power was with the colonels, not the generals. Constantine II had to accept that actual power lay with the coup leader Colonel George Papadopoulos and not the army chief of staff General Grigorios Spantidakis (who was ignorant of the April coup).

The King on returning to Tatoi from the Defence Ministry was faced with the agonizing choice of departing for exile or initially acquiescencing to the coup. Cut off from his political advisers Constantine II opted to stay in Greece. Following his mothers’ suggestion the Supreme Court Prosecutor Constantine Kollias was appointed the new prime minister whom the colonels grudgingly accepted.

The King decided to launch his counter-coup on 13th December 1967. Since Athens was militarily in the hands of the colonels, Constantine decided to fly to the small northern city of Kavala, where he hoped to be among troops loyal only to him. The vague plan that Constantine and his advisors had conceived was to form a unit that would invade and take control over Thessaloniki, where an alternative administration would be installed. The King hoped that international recognition and internal pressure between the two governments would force the junta to resign, leaving the field clear for him to return triumphant to Athens.

In the early morning hours of 13th December, the King boarded the royal plane, together with Queen Anna Maria, their two baby children Princess Alexia and Crown Prince Pavlos, his mother Queen Frederika, his sister, Princess Irene and Prime Minister Constantine Kollias. At first, things seemed to be going according to plan. Constantine was well received in Kavala, which was under the command of a general loyal to him. The Hellenic Air Force and Navy, both strongly royalist and not involved in the junta, immediately declared for him and mobilised. Another of Constantine's generals effectively cut all communication between Athens and northern Greece.

However, Constantine's plans were overly bureaucratic, naïvely supposing that orders from a commanding general would automatically be obeyed. Further, Constantine was obsessive about avoiding "bloodshed", even where the junta would most likely respond with violence. Instead of attempting to drum up the widest popular support, hoping for spontaneous pro-democracy risings in most towns, Constantine preferred to let his generals put together the necessary force for advancing on Thessaloniki in strict compliance with military bureaucracy. The King made no attempt to contact politicians, even local ones.

In the circumstances, middle-ranking pro-junta officers neutralised and arrested Constantine's royalist generals and took command of their units, and subsequently put together a force to advance on Kavala to arrest the King. Realising that the counter-coup had failed, Constantine fled Greece on board the royal plane, taking his family with him. They landed in Rome early in the morning of 14th December. The royal family took refuge in the Greek embassy, but Queen Anna Maria, who was pregnant again, lost her baby.

Sunday, 19 November 2017

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, will mark their platinum wedding anniversary on 20th November in a milestone no other monarch has achieved.

Buckingham Palace has released a new photo to mark the 70th Wedding Anniversary of The Queen & Prince Philip

From 1pm on Monday, the bells of Westminster Abbey will ring to mark the anniversary.

As usual it is difficult to find hints, where monarchists could gather to celebrate the royal couple.

A morning tea will be held at Mount Isa Library on Monday 20 November to celebrate the 70th wedding anniversary. Official guests from Mount Isa City Council, Army Base, Mount Isa Mines, Queensland Police Service, Fire Brigade, Queensland Ambulance, State Emergency Service are invited as well as members of the public.

In Melbourne Australians for Constitutional Monarchy and The Monarchist League of Australia (Victorian Chapter) invite to attend a Dinner to celebrate the 70th wedding anniversary. It will take place on 22nd November at The Melbourne Club.

Australia Post have just released a stamp set for the platinum wedding anniversary of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Below is an image featuring the $1 Perth Mint coin and medallion cover which are both available from participating Post Offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online at auspost.com.au/stamps from 20 November 2017 while stocks last.

It is suggested you speak to your local Post Office to ensure they have the stamps and products available for sale to the general public.

You are invited to a
reception to honour the 70th wedding anniversary of

Tuesday, 14 November 2017

When Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor was born on 14th November 1948 the water in Trafalgar Square’s fountains was coloured blue. Since then a lot of water has flown down the river Thames, but he has steadily prepared to ascend to the throne of the United Kingdom and the other realms and territories of the Commonwealth that still enjoy the advantages of a Constitutional Monarchy.

As good as it is possible, The Prince of Wales supports Australian causes, for example the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) whose Patron Prince Charles is, bringing global attention to the plight of Australia’s threatened wildlife: "His lifelong record of supporting conservation plays a vital role in raising awareness of the need for decisive, practical action to protect Australia’s threatened wildlife.

"Australia is home to more biodiversity than any other developed nation, reflecting both the extraordinary diversity of species in Australia and the fact that a very high proportion are found nowhere else on Earth. Sadly, however, we now have the planet’s worst mammal extinction rate and nearly 2,000 surviving plants and animals are on the national threatened species list."As Patron, Prince Charles helps highlight and promote the globally significant efforts of AWC to halt and reverse the tide of extinctions in Australia. His Royal Highness is committed to conservation and is keen to help to preserve iconic species like the Greater Bilby for generations to come.

"Prince Charles has a long history of involvement and interest in environment, sustainability and conservation including through a range of organisations of which he is Patron and his own Charitable Foundation. In Australia, the Prince has established The Prince’s Charities Australia and is Patron of a number of charitable organisations." www.princescharitiesaustralia.org.au

The Prince’s Trust Australia partners and collaborates with highly regarded Australian organisations to enable evidence-based programs to be delivered efficiently and effectively at both a local and national level. This includes identifying or creating programs to address specific social challenges, brokering partner relationships, and providing financial support to our partnership programs.

The Prince’s Trust Australia has a number of project areas across the following categories:

DEFENCE MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

The Prince’s Trust Australia established The Prince’s Lead Your Own Business (P.L.Y.O.B) program to support transitioning Australian Defence members to develop and grow their own small business. Designed to provide individualized, flexible learning support from our education provider R.M.I.T. University and tailored, comprehensive mentoring with selected partner organisations, the P.L.Y.O.B. program typically assists participants for 12 to 18 months.

The program is underpinned by a nationally accredited Certificate IV in Small Business Management and builds upon the resilience, self-discipline and commitment to excellence developed and matured with the A.D.F. The program is also supported by an Advisory Council, chaired by His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley A.C. D.S.C. (Ret’d), the Governor of New South Wales. To date, 65 A.D.F. personnel from across Australia have participated in the P.L.Y.O.B. program. The Prince’s Trust Australia welcomes applications on a rolling basis throughout the year.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

P.T.A. partners with the E.O.N. Foundation as a supporter and advocate helping raise awareness of E.O.N.’s Thriving Communities Program for remote Indigenous communities and schools. Based in Western Australia, E.O.N.’s Thriving Communities Program is an early intervention, nutrition-based healthy lifestyle and disease prevention program focused on young Indigenous Australians and their families.

P.T.A. also works in partnership with Phoenix Australia – Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, leading an international consortium of mental health researchers to develop a ground-breaking evidence-based recovery program for survivors of natural and man-made disasters. Known as interPAR, this new program will allow communities, health services, and governments to access a recovery tool kit at any time, and at no cost, to reduce distress and improve the quality of life of survivors.

ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY

Guided by His Royal Highness’ leadership in environmental sustainability, P.T.A. is currently working with Greenfleet Australia and The Walt Disney Company to create a community activation program with global reach. This “Low Glow” campaign works to support the endangered Loggerhead turtle in Bundaberg, home to more than 50% of all nesting Loggerhead turtles in the South Pacific Ocean.

P.T.A. is also a founding partner of the Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, a new platform empowering the global community to commit to working together to save one of the world’s most important natural assets and is working with The Reef Alliance recognizing exemplary efforts to raise awareness, foster knowledge-sharing, and engage local communities in sustainable natural resource management to protect and preserve the Great Barrier Reef through The Prince of Wales Environmental Leadership – Reef Sustainability Award.

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Working in partnership with Defence Housing Australia and S.A. Renewal, P.T.A. has developed Australia’s first six-star green star rated residential building in Bowden, South Australia. The Princes Terrace Adelaide merges good design with sustainable building practices, attesting to its commercial viability and the benefits of mixed-use development, while paying homage to and reflecting local heritage. The Terrace is due for completion in November 2017.

YOUNG PEOPLE

Over the past 10 years, The Prince’s Trust in the U.K. has supported more than 18,000 young people through the Get Into program, working with employers across a variety of sectors, including hospitality, retail, construction and logistics.

The Get Into program supports young people to develop sector-specific skills to help them secure long-term employment. The Prince’s Trust Australia is working with Adelaide-based not-for-profit S.Y.C. to roll-out the Get Into program across the country after a highly successful pilot program in early 2017.

RURAL AND REGIONAL

The Prince’s Trust Australia has partnered with the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (F.R.R.R.) on a pilot program seeking to establish a road-tested model of community-led disaster preparedness. The Disaster Resilient: Future Ready project engages current research, local communities and stakeholders to develop and test the framework, indicators, tools and assets to better prepare communities with place-based, sustainable processes.

ARTS AND CULTURE

In 2015, the British Museum and National Museum Australia (N.M.A.) presented the Encounters exhibition, a ground-breaking collection of rare Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander objects representing the living cultural traditions of Australia’s first peoples.

The Encounters Indigenous Cultural Workers Fellowship Program was created in response to the Encounters exhibition. Delivered in partnership with the N.M.A. every two years, the inaugural 2016 Fellowship enabled six Indigenous cultural workers from regional and remote communities to travel across Australia and the United Kingdom as part of an intensive three-month international fellowship to develop cultural, creative or heritage sector skills and capabilities.

Saturday, 4 November 2017

The Hon. Tony (Anthony John) Abbott was born on 4th November 1957 and was the 28th Prime Minister of Australia, from 18th September 2013 to 15th September 2015. Abbott was leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2009 to 2015, and has been a member of parliament for Warringah since 1994.

Between 1993 and 1994, Tony Abbott served as Executive Director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy (ACM) and fought bravely in 1999, when in a referendum the Australian people rejected a republic.

Australians for Constitutional Monarchy held its National Conference in Melbourne in October 2017 and Tony Abbott gave the keynote speech:

Sunday, 30 July 2017

Following the latest attempts of Australian republicans to replace the Constitutional Monarchy with an unknown republican regime, The Australian Monarchist League today published the following media release:

Mr Bill Shorten last night launched an attack on the Queen accusing her of being a foreign power. If he truly believes that then what worth is his word when he swore to bear true and faithful allegiance to the Queen when he took his seat in the parliament?

“I, William Richard Shorten do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Her heirs and successors according to law. SO HELP ME GOD!”

The fact is the Queen is Queen of Australia by right of the Australian Constitution. Both she, as sovereign head of state and the Governor-General, who upon appointment assumes the role of effective head of state, must accept the directions of the Australian ministers of the Crown provided those directions are in accordance with the Australian Constitution. The Queen is not a foreign power, she is the Queen and therefore is above citizenship.Philip BenwellNational ChairAustralian Monarchist League